Inactivation of transcription factor gene ACE2 in the fungal pathogen Candida glabrata results in hypervirulence.

ABSTRACT: During an infection, the coordinated orchestration of many factors by the invading organism is required for disease to be initiated and to progress. The elucidation of the processes involved is critical to the development of a clear understanding of host-pathogen interactions. For Candida species, the inactivation of many fungal attributes has been shown to result in attenuation. Here we demonstrate that the Candida glabrata homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor gene ACE2 encodes a function that mediates virulence in a novel way. Inactivation of C. glabrata ACE2 does not result in attenuation but, conversely, in a strain that is hypervirulent in a murine model of invasive candidiasis. C. glabrata ace2 null mutants cause systemic infections characterized by fungal esc

SUBMITTER: Kamran M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC387657 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature